SOMPRA3/101/0/2015

Tutorial letter 101/0/2015

STRENGTH OF MATERIALS III
(PRACTICAL)

SOMPRA3
Year Module

Department of Mechanical and Industrial

Engineering

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
This tutorial letter contains important information
about your module.

SOMPRA3/101

CONTENTS
Page
1

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 3

1.1

Tutorial matter............................................................................................................................... 3

PURPOSE OF AND OUTCOMES FOR THE MODULE................................................................ 3

LECTURER(S) AND CONTACT DETAILS................................................................................... 4

3.1

Lecturer ........................................................................................................................................ 4

3.2

Coordinator ................................................................................................................................... 4

3.3

Department ................................................................................................................................... 5

3.4

University ...................................................................................................................................... 5

MODULE RELATED RESOURCES ............................................................................................. 6

4.1

Prescribed Books .......................................................................................................................... 6

4.2

Recommended Books................................................................................................................... 6

PRACTICUM INFORMATION ...................................................................................................... 6

5.1

Venue Options .............................................................................................................................. 6

5.2

Approval of Alternative Institution (For option 2)............................................................................ 6

RULES FOR THE PRACTICUM ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION .................................... 7

DETAILS OF LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS ............................................................................ 7

ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................................................. 8

8.1

Assessment plan .......................................................................................................................... 8

8.2

General assignment numbers ....................................................................................................... 8

8.2.1

Unique assignment numbers ........................................................................................................ 8

8.2.2

Due dates of assignments............................................................................................................. 8

SUBMISSION OF PRACTICAL REPORT .................................................................................... 9

10

EXAMINATIONS .......................................................................................................................... 9

11

SUBJECT COMPONENTS ........................................................................................................... 9

12

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS .......................................................................................... 9

13

ANNEXURE A PRACTICAL LEARNING CODE OF CONDUCT ............................................. 10

14 ANNEXURE B: REGISTRATION FORM FOR PRACTICUM .......................................................... 13

15 ANNEXURE C: PRACTICAL SESSIONS INDEMNITY FORM ........................................................ 14

SOMPRA3/101

1 INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the module, Strength of Materials III (Practical) offered by the Department of
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (specifically under the Mechanical Engineering section)
in the School of Engineering at the University of South Africa (Unisa). We hope that you will find
it both interesting and rewarding. We shall do our best to make your study of this module
successful. You will be well on your way to success if you start organizing the preparatory
material early in the year and resolve to carry out the necessary experiments at venues near
you on time.
We have included certain general and administrative information about this module. Please
study this section of the tutorial letter carefully. This can be included in My studies @ Unisa,
which is specific to each college. Right from the start we would like to point out that you must
read all the documentation you receive during the year immediately and carefully, as they
always contain important and, sometimes, urgent information.
We hope that you will enjoy this module and wish you all the best!
1.1

Tutorial matter

Some of this tutorial matter may not be available when you register. Tutorial matter that is not
available when you register will be posted to you as soon as possible, but is also available on
myUnisa.

Tutorial Letters 101

Study guide(s)

Other (where applicable)

Learner package

Please ensure that you are registered and active on myUnisa portal throughout the semester.
This is an internet facility that helps you to submit assignments, to have access to the Library
functions, download study material, chat to me or fellow students and participate in online
discussion forums and get access to all sorts of learning resources.

2 PURPOSE OF AND OUTCOMES FOR THE MODULE

At the end of this module, you should be able to appreciate the practical aspects covered in
SOM381A and also be able to conduct simple guided experiments and report on the results
collected in the experiments.
3

SOMPRA3/101
1.2 Purpose
1. To provide instruction to students on how to conduct experimental work.
2. To demonstrate the theory in SOM381A using simple experiment.
3. To teach students how to report experimental findings.

1.3 Outcomes
1. Students should demonstrate that they are able to conduct independent
practical work under an onsite instructor.
2. Students should be able to discuss their experimental findings governed by the
theory they covered in SOM381A or in any previous Strength of Materials
courses.
3. Students should be able to write the reports and present their findings in an
acceptable format or as provided by their instructors at the Institution where
they conducted the experimental work.

3 LECTURER(S) AND CONTACT DETAILS

3.1

Lecturer

Your lecturer is:

Mr H. M. Ngwangwa

Tel number :

011 471 2079

Fax number:

011 471 2142

e-mail :

ngwanhm@unisa.ac.za

Availability:

Mondays to Fridays
12h00 to 12h30 and 17h00 to 20h00
Please adhere to these hours only.

3.2

Coordinator

Name:

Ms N Nkambule

Tel number: 011 471 2963

Fax number: 011 471 2142
Mondays to Fridays from 10h00 to 14h00. Any emails received after this time will be attended
at the next working day. Please adhere to these hours.
Role of the Coordinator:

General practicum coordination

SOMPRA3/101

3.3

Practicum dates
Practicum venues
Approval of institutions for the practicum
Department

You may contact the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering by post, e-mail,
telephone, or online through myUnisa.
Please refer to the booklet: my Studies @ Unisa that you received with your study material.
Departmental Address:
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Unisa (Florida Campus)
Private Bag X6
Florida, 1710
Phone: 011 471 2963
Use the general E-mail address: nkambule@unisa.ac.za
Find our department on the Internet at the online address: http://www.unisa.ac.za
Always state your STUDENT NUMBER and your Module Code SOMPRA3 in all
correspondence and enquiries to ensure prompt and efficient response from us.
Whenever you contact the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, ensure that
the first thing you mention after greeting is your subject code!
3.4

University

Contact addresses of the various administrative departments are included in my Studies @

Unisa, which you received with your study package.
You may contact your lecturers by post, email, telephone or on myUnisa
Physical address: University of South Africa
Preller Street
Muckleneuk
Pretoria
City of Tshwane
Postal Address:

University of South Africa

PO Box 392
Unisa
0003

Fax Number:

+27 (0)12 429 4150

5

SOMPRA3/101
Email:

study-info@unisa.ac.za

Online address:

http://my.unisa.ac.za

Always use your student number when you contact the university.

4 MODULE RELATED RESOURCES

4.1

Prescribed Books

Same as in the theory module SOM3601

4.2

Recommended Books

Same as in the theory module SOM3601

5 PRACTICUM INFORMATION
5.1

Venue Options

Learners have a choice of two options as to where they want to attend the practicum.
OPTION 1: THE PREFERRED OPTIONS
UJ (DOORNFONTAIN) Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Free State & Surroundings
VAAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Free State &
Surroundings
DURBAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY KZN and Surroundings
CAPE PENISULA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Western Cape
WALTER SISULU UNIVERSITY - Eastern Cape & Surroundings
UNISA has entered into an agreement with the above Institutions whereby UNISA learners may
attend practicums at predetermined dates.
On completion of the practicum, the learner must submit the practicum report to the responsible
laboratory assistant or lecturer. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in no marks
being allocated for the practicum.
OPTION 2: THE NON PREFERRED OPTION
ALTERNATIVE INSTITUTION
In the event of learners not being able to attend the practicum at the one of the above
institutions, the practicum may be performed at any other University of Technology or similar
institution, should facilities exist to carry out the practical work. See paragraph 5.2 for more
information.
5.2

Approval of Alternative Institution (For option 2)

Submission of documentation to alternative institution

Should the learner choose Option 2, the following documents must be submitted to the relevant
institution for their perusal and action:
6

SOMPRA3/101

Annexure A Practical Learning Code of Conduct

Annexure B Registration Form for Practicum
Learners must complete the personal information section, and provide the name of the
institution where they intend to do the practicum, as well as the contact name and
telephone number of the responsible laboratory staff member. This information must be
submitted to the responsible lecturer at UNISA.

It is the sole responsibility of the learner to verify that the alternative institution have
sufficient facilities to effect the practicum and to comply with the UNISA practicum
requirements.
Approval of Institution by UNISA
After submission of the registration form in Annexure B the learner must enquire from the
Coordinator (Practicum) whether his application is approved.
Approval of an alternative institution is given on condition that no cost implications to UNISA are
applicable.
The student will personally be responsible for any costs that might be required from the
approved institution.

6 RULES FOR THE PRACTICUM ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION

1. The code of conduct as specified in Annexure A must be adhered to
2. Any rules stipulated in Annexure A must be complied with
3. In addition to the above the following will apply:
The laboratory assistant or manager must verify your physical attendance and
participation in the workshop by signing the front page of your report. Failure to adhere to
this requirement will render your submission null and void.

The learner must obtain a sub-minimum of 50% to pass the practicum

The learner must be directly involved in carrying out the practical work. In instances
where the number of learners attending a practical session necessitates in groupparticipation, each learner of this group must do a specific section of the particular
practicum and the task split must be given in the learners report. Note your group
number, if applicable.

The learner must record all relevant answers on the respective answer sheet for each
experiment

7 DETAILS OF LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS

The Strength of Materials II (Practical) course consists of a number of prescribed experiments.
These laboratory experiments are the same as those prescribed by other Universities as part of
their syllabus. The following experiments are recommended but will be based on host
institutions practicums: You should complete at least three from this list and submit them as
part of your Assignment 02.
Experiment 1 :

Thin Cylinders
7

SOMPRA3/101
Experiment 2 :

Bending Stress

Experiment 3 :

Youngs Modulus, Flexural Rigidity and Buckling Load of Struts

Experiment 4 :

Combined Shear force and bending moment in a cantilever

8 ASSESSMENT
8.1

Assessment plan

Final Mark = 0.2 Registration of Experiments + 0.8 Practical Reports

The assignments contribution towards the year mark is shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Summary of assignment mark contribution towards SOMPRA2 year mark
ASSIGNMENT
NUMBER

CONTRIBUTION
CONTRIBUTION
TOWARDS YEAR TOWARDS
EXAMINATION CREDIT
MARK

01 (Compulsory)

20 %

20

02 (Compulsory)

80 %

80

TOTAL

8.2

100 %

100 Credits

General assignment numbers

There are two assignments in a year numbered 01 and 02 as shown below.

8.2.1 Unique assignment numbers
Assignment no.
Assignment 01

Unique no.
602891

Assignment 02

602914

Description
Registration of Experiments: Submission
of Annexure Form B
Experimental Reports

8.2.2 Due dates of assignments

The due dates for the submission of the assignments are given in Table 2.
Table 2: Table showing submission deadlines for assignments
THE CUT-OFF SUBMISSION DATES FOR THE ASSIGNMENTS ARE :
Assignment 01

2-Apr-2015

Assignment 02

28-Aug-2015

Note: The cut-off dates given here are the official, last dates on which a given
assignment may be submitted. Students must adhere to these dates only. All
other dates referring to cut-off submission dates for assignments, as may be
posted on myUnisa or elsewhere, refers to administrative dates as managed by
8

SOMPRA3/101
the Assignment Department and does NOT influence or change the above
dates.

9 SUBMISSION OF PRACTICAL REPORT

OPTION 1: THE PREFERRED OPTION
On completion of the practicum, the practicum report must be submitted to the lecturer or
laboratory assistant at the institution where the practical was done. The institution will forward
all assessed practicums to UNISA.
OPTION 2: THE NON-PREFERRED OPTION
ALTERNATIVE INSTITUTION
On completion of the practicum, the practicum report must be submitted to the manager or
laboratory assistant for assessment. After the practicum has been marked the marked script
must be send back to UNISA.
It is very important to consider the following points

No late submissions will be accepted

You must submit your report three weeks after doing your practical
Keep a clear copy of the project for your own reference. This is important as projects do
get lost
Submissions of assignments must be in accordance to the my Studies @ Unisa handy
guide
It is your responsibility to check whether UNISA has received your project by contacting
the call centre

10 EXAMINATIONS
There are no examinations for this module

11 SUBJECT COMPONENTS
Strength of Materials II consists of 2 modules. You must pass both modules to obtain credit for
the subject:
SUBJECT COMPONENT

PERCENTAGE
WEIGHT
SUBJECT COMPONENT

Strength of Materials III (Theory) SOM3601

100%

Strength of Materials III (Practical) SOMPRA3

100%

OF

EACH

12 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

I HAVE NOT RECEIVED MY PRACTICUM GUIDE
9

SOMPRA3/101

Please contact the department or the university as per details given above.
DID UNISA RECEIVE ANNEXURE B: REGISTRATION FORM FOR PRACTICUM OR
ANNEXURE C: INDEMNITY FORM?
Please contact the module coordinator.
IS THE ALTERNATIVE PRACTICUM INSTITUTION APPROVED?
Please see details in section 5.2.1 and 5.2.2 above.
WHERE CAN I FIND MY PRACTICUM MARKS
The marks will be posted as with the marks for the other modules. In the scenario that you have
not received the marks after a reasonable expected date, please contact the department of the
university as per details given above.

13 ANNEXURE A PRACTICAL LEARNING CODE OF CONDUCT

PREAMBLE
Co-operative education is an educational approach that integrates practical sessions into the
educational programme in order to ensure applied competence of graduates. Practical
sessions, whatever form they take, are an equally important component to the formal learning
components of the programme. No tuition provider can provide co-operative education on its
own. A collaborative effort between UNISA (as tuition provider); employers or community
settings (practical session providers) and learners (the learner) is necessary in order to
succeed.
UNISA will provide guidelines in order to provide for a high level of learning at the institution
where the learner undergoes practical sessions. The practical sessions form part of the overall
educational programme and offer an opportunity for learners to verify, in a practical way, what
they have learned and serve as fertile ground for sowing the seed for learning that will follow.
The objective of this code is to publicly state what conduct is expected from UNISA learners
during periods of practical sessions.

RIGHTS OF LEARNERS
Learners, like any member of a community, have both rights and obligations, for example:

10

A right to equal education, that does not discriminate among learners on the basis of
race, sex, colour, disability, religion or national origin. However, because practical
sessions take place at another institution, UNISA cannot be held accountable.

A right to be informed of UNISA policies and academic programme requirements.

A right to privacy of personal matters and possessions.
A right to freedom of expression, within the parameters of the law.
A right to fair disciplinary procedures, which includes the right to know what they are
accused of and the right to respond with their side of the situation.

SOMPRA3/101
OBLIGATIONS OF UNISA LEARNERS
An obligation is a responsibility, which among others, ensures that the rights of others are
protected. The following obligations are not an exhaustive list, but serve as code of conduct of
what is expected from UNISA learners with regard to periods of practical sessions.
1. Registration
It is incumbent upon every learner who registers with UNISA to familiarise her/himself
about the practical session's components of the programme registered for and to comply
with the procedures and requirements of UNISA in this regard.
2. Assessment and progression
Each learner is responsible for compliance with the requirements pertaining to the
practical sessions of her/his educational programme and to follow the relevant
procedures with regard to assessment of practical sessions.
3. Compliance with employers policies, rules and regulations
Learners are required to observe and uphold the policies, procedures and rules of the
institution that provide practical session opportunities. This includes, but is not limited to,
being present for laboratory sessions as per agreement with the institution, no absence
without leave, punctuality, and respecting the person and property of the institution and
fellow learners.
4. Expected to participate actively and positively
UNISA expects enthusiasm from its learners. Learners should actively engage in the
practical session situation, learn from practical work undertaken and ask questions to
optimise their learning. Information necessary in order to complete practical reports
should be actively pursued. Materials necessary to complete reports should be actively
sought and legitimately obtained.
5. Intellectual property, honesty and individual work
Learners may not intentionally submit for evaluation material (plagiarism) that contains
another person's work. Another persons work may not be copied and submitted as ones
own.
6. False information, forgery, alteration or misuse
False information or information furnished with the intent to deceive will not be tolerated.
Neither would forgery, alteration or misuse be tolerated. Learners will not make
themselves guilty to any form of abuse or unauthorised use of computer equipment or
systems.
7. Confidentiality
Learners will respect the information of their practical session providers and will not
disclose nor permit or entitle any unauthorised person to have access to the guideline
documents of the institution in their possession or care. If need be, special arrangements
may be made between UNISA and a practical session provider to formally protect
confidential or sensitive information.
8. Monitoring own progress (continuous self-assessment)
Learners are required to progress with their practical session requirements, and ensure
that reports will be submitted on time. Should a learner experience difficulty, he/she
should contact the relevant UNISA staff for assistance or guidelines.
11

SOMPRA3/101
9. Serve as ambassadors of UNISA
Learners serve as ambassadors of UNISA and will refrain from any abusive physical
contact or any disorderly conduct. No form of harassment, sexual or other, will be
tolerated. Learners will not misrepresent or contradict UNISA, however, learners are
expected at all times to act in such a way that it demonstrates respect for the rights and
privileges of others.

12

SOMPRA3/101/0/2015

14 ANNEXURE B: REGISTRATION FORM FOR PRACTICUM

TO: Ms N Nkambule (Responsible Person - Practicals)

Date : ____________________

STUDENT INITIAL AND SURNAME : ____________________________________________

STUDENT NO.: _________________________________________
TELEPHONE NO.: _______________________
CELL : _________________________________

WORK : _________________________
FAX :

__________________________

E-MAIL: ________________________________________________(COMPULSORY)

SUBJECT

NAME

AND

INSTITUTION

CODE
Strength

CONTACT PERSON AND TEL NO. FOR

INSTITUTION

of

Materials

III

(Practical): SOMPRA3

OPTION 2:
I confirm that I have discussed all aspects of the practical session with the responsible person
from __________________________________ and that UNISA will in no way be liable for any
costs with respect to this practical session.

_________________________________
SIGNATURE OF LEARNER

13

______________________
DATE

15 ANNEXURE C: PRACTICAL SESSIONS INDEMNITY FORM

14